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Catalog

Transportation of drugs: what are the 3 functions of an insulated packaging solution?

23 December 2015

Drugs
are placed in a primary packaging and in a single or multiple secondary
packaging. The primary packaging refers to the drug box, which represents a
source of information for patients. The secondary packaging is for packaging and
transportation purposes. In the case where drugs must be transported under a
certain temperature to guarantee their integrity, the pharmaceutical industry
uses cold chain thermal packages
(containers, boxes or
pouches).

Protecting the drugs from
external temperatures

The primary purpose of insulated packaging is
to keep drugs within the specified temperature range in order to guarantee
their integrity, hence all the
therapeutic properties.

Insulated packages can keep products cool, under +2/+8°C, frozen (-18/-20°C) or at "so-called" room-temperature,
under +15/+25°C.

Regardless of the external temperature, the
purpose of the insulated packaging is to guarantee
a stable temperature to keep products –in such a case, drugs– at the same
temperature for the entire duration of transportation. As it is extremely
dangerous for a heat-sensitive drug to be frozen, the packaging solution serves
to protect both from the cold and the
heat.

This is
problem-free when completed in France where temperature variations are not
huge. On the contrary, it is a very different story on the international scene
where the packaging solution may pass through geographic areas which experience
extreme temperature variations. For example, a packaging solution may be
sent from Brazil where the temperature is 28°C to be delivered to Russia where
the temperature is -8°C.

Protecting the health of
patients

Heat-sensitive drugs help treat patients: cold chain transportation is
therefore essential. If drugs are not kept as per correct temperature
conditions, they become less effective, and at worse, toxic. These drugs are a
support for the therapeutic treatment of patients. Packaging solutions must be reliable as the health of the patient
relies on it.

The importance of upholding cold chain
transportation of pharmaceutical products for patients

Transported drugs within insulated packaging
solutions feature drugs based on living cells: vaccines, insulin, anticancer
drugs... They represent the results of many
years of pharmaceutical research and
are therefore expensive. They offer particularly
effective targeted therapy. They are fragile drugs which require specific
precautions during storage and transportation stages, right up to the time they
are administered to patients.

Protecting against impact

Polyurethane
is a very effective thermal insulating material and it also protects drugs from
impact to which boxes could be subjected during transportation. We also use
polypropylene, a very strong material with high impact resistance, in addition
to plastic for increased resistance to impact. Our iBox container
includes a flight-case: an aluminium box with plastic, alveolar panels, which
is extremely resistant to impact.

For
optimal protection, the box must be completely filled. This also enables the
cold air to correctly diffuse around the entire box.